Star Wars: Crimson Order
by rockthewarrior
Summary: 25 years after the Yuuzhan Vong war an ancient evil rears its head to bring devistation to a galaxy that has fallen into a pattern of peace. New heros must rise to meet the challenge.Go ahead and review. I won't be offended.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

It has been twenty five years since the end of the war with the Yuuzhan Vong, nineteen years since the end of the Swarm War. The galaxy enjoyed a period of peace for almost two decades. However this fragile balance has been broken as a new army makes the planets of the Galactic Alliance its battlefield.

Led by the ruthless rogue Jedi General Gnave victory after victory is claimed by this new army of Separatists. The ruling authorities call on the Jedi order to put an end to their former ally. Behind the scenes however, an ancient group is once again stirring. The balance of power is tilting precariously toward Gnave's favor as a splinter group of the Imperial Remnant reinforces the dissenter's already large fleet.

The Jedi have not been inactive during this time, however. Spies have managed to locate General Gnave and a small battle group has been dispatched under the command of Jedi Knight Elydyn Taalar. Their goal, to end Gnave's threat once and for all.

The silence of the docking bay was broken as an old _Lambda_ class shuttle descended onto the durasteel surface. The faint hiss of engine coolant could be heard over the clattering of boots as white armored men moved around into a defensive position. The landing ramp slowly and deliberately lowered itself to the ground a dull thunk telling everyone it was down all the way. A maelstrom of blaster bolts erupted and the night sky became almost as bright as day.

Moments later the commanding officer ordered a cease fire, and the black clad commandos stepped forward, hefting their large Mer-son concussion rifles. To an observer it would seem that now they were more interested in capturing their quarry instead of just killing it; after all a political prisoner is far more valuable than a corpse.

They were stopped a few meters short of the boarding ramp and prepared to board the shuttle. Three black Stealth X fighters swooped over the crowded platform and pounded the landing bay with blaster fire. Most of the troops were caught off guard and were vaporized instantly. A few ran for cover and no doubt signaled for back up.

A hissing sound poured from the comm speaker of the lead fighter. Most would consider this static but Jedi Knight Elydyn Taalar knew it to be the reptilian laughter of his Barabel student Sarick Sebatyne.

"It appearz you were right master." The other Jedi replied. "This one thought that the Imperial Remnant waz united and part of the Galactic Alliance. Yet these still attack the space lanez."

The master sighed and mental responded through the Jedi battle meld. _Factions can appear in even the most united of groups young one. Just look at how many Jedi have left the Order to seek personal gain._

The younger Jedi sighed but then his excitement could be felt rising through the meld. "Master TIEz!" He shouted into the comm.

"You take the fighters." The Taalar replied. "I'm going for a walk." The Jedi switched the comm channel. "Captain Eaichu, I am going down to make contact with the target. Enemies are inbound, scramble your fighters." Elydyn Taalar waited to receive conformation before pulling the lever to open the cockpit canopy, and he unbuckled the crash webbing. "R7 slave the controls to Jedi Sebatyne's X-Wing." He told his astromech before jumping off the ship. His brown cloak fluttered around him as he fell, plummeting to the ground below. The Jedi concentrated and slowed his fall as he let the Force carry him to his target. Elydyn landed on the upraised wing of the dummy shuttle. The remaining Stormtroopers raised their blasters to attack the new foe, but before they could squeeze the triggers their wrists were held in the iron grip of the force. The air was suddenly filled with flailing bodies and the sound of grunts and groans as they slammed into each other, after a few moments all became still.

Something moved to the Jedi's right and he swung his arm around and summoned the Force to deflect a cargo container that assaulted him from the left. The crate exploded in a cloud of shrapnel as a figure landed on the deck with a metallic thud.

"Very good Jedi Taalar." A voice rasped in congratulation. A tall figure rose from the smoke, a black robe and hood concealed a form Elydyn knew all too well.

"Gnave" He hissed.

No, no, Jedi Taalar." The shadow corrected as it waggled a bone thin finger in the air. "General Gnave." He stepped from the smoke shaking his head. The motion caused the hood to fall revealing a death's head mask covering a scarred reptilian face. A wave of anger struck Elydyn so hard that it almost knocked him off his perch. He sent out soothing waves of energy and soon he could stand firm again.

Gnave had once been a Jedi until an accident with a flesh eating bacteria left his body beyond repair. To save his mind most of his head and vital organs were transplanted into a metallic shell, reminiscent of the Kalleesh hero General Grievous. Of course several new modifications had been made over the course of time, including reinforced armor over his vital organs. If Grievous was a monster in his time Gnave was a demon. His unnatural strength and flexibility coupled with his power in the force made him an overwhelming foe.

"You came all the way here to find me Jedi Taalar?" The metallic voice rasped. "How touching. I knew you cared for your old rival but your tenacity is beginning to wear on my nerves. I will tell you for the last time I am not going back with you." The words hissed through the vocoder over his mouth.

"It is Master Taalar now Gnave." Elydyn responded "And I am not here to bring you back. I have come to end your threat one way or another. Surrender your lightsabers and you will not be killed for now."

The only response was an angry growl as one of Gnave's arms split down the middle and three metal cylinders were called into his hands. "I trust you still use three blades." He spat as a trio of crimson blades sprang to life. "If the Council is foolish enough to send you to your grave then I will accommodate then." The spidery figure crouched down in a defensive position.

"Of course." Taalar replied as three hilts floated in the air around him. Two locked together and landed in his left hand. The other was summoned into his right. Two blue-black blades and a single white one extended from the emitters. "I couldn't let my old rival get too far ahead of me. It is you that we are going to have to burry though."

The duelists jumped forward and their blades clashed, locking in midair. The combatants dropped to the floor and both went into a Force shove. Gnave landed on his knuckles and used his momentum to bring his legs back, he righted himself and slid a few inches his clawed toes scraping grooves in the floor. Taalar simply flipped and landed in a crouch, his right hand and sabers resting on the ground, his left held at an angle in front of his body to shield himself from any oncoming attacks. The robotic general charged, his sabers battering the defensive shield that Elydyn managed to weave with all three of his sabers coming from a different angle.

_He left himself open._ Taalar smiled as he attacked the open arm. The armor chipped slightly but the blade extinguished. _Cortossis!_ He cursed silently. Cortossis was one of the few materials in the galaxy that could resist the cutting edge of a lightsaber. At the most a flake would be chipped off, but making contact with the material would cause a saber to shut down. The Jedi quickly reignited his saber and blocked an incoming attack and twisted the bladed knocking his enemy's weapon from his grip. He delivered a force empowered kick to Gnave's midsection. It felt like he was kicking a duracrete pillar but the Dark Jedi still slid a few feet back and slammed into a cargo container.

The General chuckled to himself and raised his unarmed hand. A fibercord lash flew from Gnave's and wrapped around Elydyn's wrists. With a sharp tug Gnave pulled his captive forward causing Elydyn to land hard on his stomach, the air rushed from his lungs and his weapons flew from his hands, clattering loudly on the durasteel floor.

The Kalleesh laughed as he raised his arm to deliver the killing blow. He tried to pull his arm down but when the limb did not respond he turned his head to see it locked in the grasp of a scaly hand.

"This one thought you could use some help." Sarick hissed as he pulled the arm free of its joint leaving a mess of sparking wires and dripping lubricant hoses. An acid yellow saber flashed forward to cut the cable holding the master's wrists and Elydyn Taalar sprang to his feet calling his weapons to his hands.

"You are still too slow my old friend." Gnave taunted as he leapt over the pair and off the landing platform. Seconds later the scream of Ion engines was heard as a TIE Advance starfighter sped away from the scene.

"Sorry master. This one did not intend on letting him escape." Sarick hissed apologetically. The student crushed the arm he still held sending chips of black ore flying.

"It is all right Sarick." His master replied. "You pulled me out of the Rancor pit this time, for sure. We need to inform Master Skywalker about what has happened here. The pair crossed the platform and jumped into their ships. As they took off the black armor of their Stealth X's hid them from any prying sensor scans. Seconds later they vanished into the hanger bay of the Galactic Alliance warship. A few moments after they were aboard the vessel the battle group vanished into hyperspace.


	2. Chapter 2

_I don't own Star Wars but I do own most of the characters. Some of the characters from the New Jedi Order will show up but the rest are mine D. Most of the alien species belong to George as well._

Chapter 2

The doors to the council chamber closed with an ominous boom that resounded down the hall as the master and apprentice exited the room. The meeting had gone well if you consider the fact that the pair had just returned from a failed mission. Master Skywalker had questioned him on the makeup of Gnave's forces. Focusing on whether or not he could identify the manufacturer of some of his equipment. Even with just a cursory glance at the cargo crates littering the landing platform the two Jedi had been able to confirm that Gnave was being supplied by Windscar Industries. The manufacturing company had come into being shortly after the Killik War. They specialized in arms manufacturing, mainly heavy weapons and assault droids.

The two Jedi were dismissed and they went their separate ways for the evening. The master Jedi retired to his room for the evening and spent most of his time in meditation.

The next morning Sarick met Elydyn at his master's room. The pair was in turn met by an old friend of the master's as he stepped into the corridor. The shorter man was a blue skinned Chiss, a civilization long know for their isolationist tendencies. The Killik war had done much to change that long time condition and the two governments had begun to work together and a new era of peace had descended upon the known galaxy.

"Ah Kyp'sio'nuruodo!" Elydyn said rushing forward to embrace his friend. The Chiss flinched at the butchering of his name but smiled none the less.

"I have told you that my core name of Psion will suffice my friend." He shrugged free of the bear hug. "Your rendition of the whole is awful."

"Whatever." Taalar sighed, he would get it right one of these days.

"Besides Elydyn keep this up and I'll be able to order you to call me by that name." He clasped his hands behind his back. "At one point you were next in line to be on the advisory council at least until your three failures with Gnave. It seems that you still have a soft spot for our former friend." Elydyn winced at his remarks. "If we all didn't know better we would assume you are working for him. You should have let me finish him when we had the chance, maybe then your old apprentice would still be alive."

Sarick growled deep in his throat when he heard that remark. "This one thinkz you should watch your wordz more carefully." The Barabel answered for his master, his anger evident in his voice and posture. "Master Taa-" he stopped mid sentence as Elydyn shot him a disapproving glance.

"It is not the apprentices place to question a master." He stated flatly "Or a Knight." He added after considering his words for a moment. "No matter what. Though you are not one to lecture me on losing an apprentice Psion, you lost one to simple pirates." The knight snapped back.

A hurt look flashed across Psion's features as the comment wounded his pride. "I laid out a solid battle plan. If he would have followed it he would not have died." Psion's gaze hardened. "Anyways, I came down here to tell you your next mission has been assigned." A large avian stepped up next to Psion, Elydyn recognized him as the Chiss' apprentice Rusti. "The four of us have been ordered to put an end to Lord Windscar's manufacturing abilities. It seems that he has been harassing the Chiss and you know how well that goes over with my people."

"Why doesn't the Ascendancy just destroy hit them themselves?" Taalar asked.

"The Ascendancy has some more important matters to attend to at the moment." The blue skinned Jedi answered. "The rest of the mission data will be presented via secure holopad once we are en route."

"All right." Elydyn commented as he turned to leave. "I'll see you in the hanger in an hour. May the Force be with you." He added as his long legs propelled him down the hall. He had a few things to do before he could leave the temple again.

The empty hallways of the ancient temple stretched forward into nothingness. The only thing that could be seen in the blackness was the flickering, dancing flames of the torches that lined the walls. They tried to spread their warmth to the surrounding are but the oppressive darkness rose up and choked it before it could accomplish its mission. A worn stone path marked the direction most traveled. Several corridors branched off from the main path and a faint musty odor wafted from rooms unused for hundreds of years. The inner sanctum was so shrouded in the inky blackness that one had to concentrate as they tried to walk forward so that they would not lose track of the door from which they entered. The darkness radiated from the center of the room where a blinding shaft of light descended from the ceiling, illuminating a large stone sarcophagus. Even this light did not go far, any trace of it died after only a few inches, plunging the room back into complete darkness. It was in this room that the group preferred to meet. Only one man had ever seen all of them in the light of day. He thought it best to keep the identities of each member secret, that way they could attend to their missions without worrying about being identified. If you could see any of them you would have noted twenty beings of various shapes each with a red cloak and hood hiding their features. They had formed a circle around the man that had united them all. Silence was broken as metallic claws clicked against the ancient stone floor. The sound came closer until a green hooded profile appeared in front of the shaft of light.

"Ah General Gnave," The man in the center spoke, his melodic voice grabbing the attention of everyone in the room. "We've been expecting you."

A soft click could be heard as Gnave's infrared lenses dropped into place, he had already tried night vision but still he could see nothing except the illuminated casket.

"I should be insulted." The leader continued. "I should think that you would know by now that we of the Crimson River can easily hide from such ancient tools."

"Which one of you alerted the Jedi?" Gnave bellowed. He was growing tired of playing this group's game.

"Come now General, why would we want our operations hindered. The sooner you collect our energy the sooner we meet our goals."

A coldness could be felt in the back of Gnave's mind. It spread to the rest of his brain as he realized he was being played just as he though he was playing them.

"One more planet is all we need. We care not which, but since the Jedi have posed such a threat to us I am sending Ragni with you. He should be most adequate to handle any problems you run into."

"A most generous offer, but I have my own troops." The cyborg responded.

"Pitiful men with out matched weapons, you may as well be fighting a Star Destroyer with a butter knife, but of course your life is in your own hands. Have it your way though. Leave us." Silence resumed until the clicking of Gnave's talons faded into nothingness.

"Of course you have other plans than letting him disobey your orders." One of them men commented.

"Indeed," Added the tallest of the group. "Ragni has already boarded his ship, Lord of the Crimson Water. He will remain out of sight until needed."

"Soon the Jedi will move against Lord Windscar. Is our little surprise in place Lord of the Crimson Rock?" The man in the center replied.

"Yes master." The tall one answered. "Everything has been prepared." The silence resumed as each of the wraiths slipped from the room.


	3. Chapter 3

The four Jedi met at the foot of the massive transport ship's cargo elevator. The oblong lozenge shaped vessel was loaded with the Stealth X's that the Jedi would use to infiltrate Windscar's manufacturing space station situated in an asteroid field near Chiss space. As the cargo lift slowly descended to the floor an unexpected pair of gray robes came into view. Even before the golden hair of their old comrade even came into view both Psion and Elydyn discerned the identities of the Jedi Knights. The platform touched down and the Master Jedi onboard smiled broadly for a moment before his face became serious.

"So I guess it is the six of us and a transport crew against whatever Windy has to throw at us then?" the blonde said dryly. "I think we're far overstaffed; maybe we should just take the stealth X's down by ourselves."

"The transport is supposed to drop us in system and leave." Psion stated matter of factly.

"Good to see you again Michael." Taalar said. "You been taking good care of my sister?"

"Of course he has." A feminine voice responded. "We've done so well out on the rim that the council decided you could use our help. I never thought I'd be bailing my big brother out of as jam." Her amusement was lost on Elydyn as pondered the meaning of her words.

"Just try to keep up shorty." He replied after a moment. "I've been out fighting real battles while you've been building sand castles on Tatooine." Despite himself Elydyn found his tongue sticking out at his younger sister.

"You can't build sand castles on Tatooine!" She replied haughtily "The sand has to stick together somehow."

"We can catch up on old times after we have departed." Psion interrupted as he shouldered his way onto the transport along with his Rishii apprentice, Rusti.

"Fair enough," Taalar responded as he motioned for his apprentice to follow him onto the lift. The six of them squeezed onto the lift and it ascended back into the transports receiving deck. Moments later the ship in turn ascended into the deep blackness of space.

The Lord of the Crimson Rock stood near his two apprentices on the bridge of his personal assault shuttle the _Vulture_. They too were of the Crimson Order and on the Council of Nineteen. Fear and Vengeance were both powerful tools in the Order's cause and his charges exemplified the characteristics for which they were named well. They both were kneeling before his massive frame, their hooded heads bowed in reverence. Fear and Vengeance didn't even reach his shoulders yet he knew the power they both possessed. Fear was an athletically built humanoid creature, clad in a black tunic and pants similar to his master, his long red cloak and hood however were not needed to conceal his identity. His true face had never even been seen by The Crimson Rock; instead a black nothingness was all that was revealed. Vengeance was similarly clad though her belt was broader to support the brace she carried her lightsabers on. Her face was covered in same color cowl as her master though several locks of her dark blue hair fell from the shadows. Crimson Rock had personally selected her as a candidate after she defeated one of his previous apprentices. During the battle she had received a wound that ruined her eyes forever but luckily for he she did not need such trivial things as a member of the Crimson Order.

"Is all ready?" The Lord of the Crimson Rock rumbled.

"Yes master." His apprentices responded in unison. "Windscar has been provided with all he will need to combat the coming Jedi attack."

"So the Crimson Law will deal with them eh?" a deep chuckle passed from hidden lips. "He is far to much for such a mission, Crimson Water should have been sent, though even Pride would have been enough to take care of six medaling Jedi. The Mind is in control though and we have no reason to doubt him so far." An arm slowly slid from the cloak its large pinchers clacked together with a metallic click. "Keep the ship in its current position. I want to see how well the Mind trains his killers."

"Yes my lord." The two replied in sync as they each moved in opposite directions to carry out their master's command.

The holopad flickered off and the scent of burning components filled the air as the circuits of the device self destructed.

"I guess that is all we get." Michael sighed, his toes tapping against the durasteel deck in agitation. "I thought we defeated Windscar a while ago. We did battle with him on, where was it?" The Knight scratched his chin thoughtfully. "Oh yes Mustafar, we had to kick his group out of there that one time." He said turning to his apprentice.

"As did I master." Dineyl replied as she looked up from the data storage unit she was tinkering with. "At least all the data we collected on what was left of the corpse matched his DNA that we had on record perfectly. The cells couldn't have been altered because they showed no documented signs of such a procedure. Cloning is also out of the question because the cells gathered were not artificially matured."

Dineyl had worked under the Jedi's Master Healer for a few years before becoming Michael's student, so her opinion on the chances of cell tampering were the most educated out of the group.

"So that meanz that the Windscar we deal with today iz a clone?" Sarick, Elydyn's Barabel student commented.

"It is a possibility." Psion said. "His personality quirks could be the result of a shortened maturity period and the flash learning process."

Elydyn rubbed his chin thoughtfully for a minute before replying. "Regardless of this situation we need to proceed with caution. Even a clone of someone as powerful in the Force as Windscar can be a serious threat." He let his gaze move across the room. "I am sure he already knows he is coming."

iThere can be no doubt of that./i The Rishii, Rusti added through the Force.

The room fell silent as the Jedi went into meditation to prepare for the coming battle.

The next few days passed without any problems and all the Jedi had returned to the main conference room for their final preparations.

"Time to go everyone." Elydyn said as he rose from his chair as the reversion alarm sounded. The six Knights left the room and sped through the halls to the hanger bay. After doing the pre launch checks they prepared for Phase One of the plan. The launch bay doors opened and dumped the powered down Stealth Xs out of the bay. Then the transport fired its engines and blasted back into hyperspace. Of course it was only a short jump but any enemies trying to track the vessel wouldn't know that.

The Jedi reached out with the Force to ensure that no enemy vessels were moving to engage them, and shockingly no combat units were even mobilized.

"Too easy." Sarick hissed as they headed toward the massive station Windscar called home. "This one doesn't trust such an open invitation."

No agreement was needed for such an obvious statement.

"So they have come." Lord Windscar mumbled from the command chair of his station. Windscar Manufacturing had been a staple of New Republic ship building until the owner had gone rogue. Now it was supplying General Gnave's personal army with all the troops and ships he needed for his conquest. "I hope Gnave is right about letting them come here without some resistance." He spoke softly as he rose from his seat with a feathery rustle. "Ready the units! I will challenge them myself." He walked quickly from the room before gathering up his weapons and walking briskly to the landing area.

"They have arrived my lord." Fear told Crimson Rock.

"I know." Came the growled reply. They had already observed the Lord of the Crimson Law set his trap around the landing platform. "Keep all systems powered down until the actual battle begins. The Mind will be interested in the outcome."

"Yes my lord." His apprentices replied as they tapped a few buttons on the control console. The gunboat remained invisible to all scans as the watchers continued with their work.


	4. Chapter 4

Author's note: I know I changed Michael to Mieqel. Pronounced the same just looks different.

Windscar inspected the fighters in the landing bay with a critical eye. The droid brains were set high enough to make the engagement look real though not high enough to actually kill any of his six guests. He slapped the "Engage" button on each of the twelve fighter's control panels before turning to another of the landing bay's control boxes. After entering a complex sequence of commands he pressed a button marked "Send". A few moments later his custom made battle droids arrayed themselves on the roof of the hangar.

The CEO smiled wickedly as he watched the cannons mounted on four legs grip the ceiling. Cargo droids moved crates around to make sure that there was room in the bay for six Stealth X fighters as well as providing cover for the soldiers.

"That should do." Windscar muttered fingering the lightsaber on his belt. "Now let the games begin."

The Lord of the Crimson Law stayed where he was hidden, the droids moved shoving boxes this way and that but none disturbed his surprises and none came close enough to spot him. He instinctively flexed his hand. Once there had been razor sharp claws contained in those fingers but through the miracles of modern science he now had much deadlier tools to work with. The same muscle contractions that extended his old weapons now triggered his new ones so he didn't have to fumble with learning how to handle himself again. Now, however he would finally get to put his enhancements to good use. As soon as those Jedi arrived he would teach them all to respect the Order.

"Fighters inbound." Came Psion's precise voice. "Twelve in all, it appears he either doesn't know we are here or doesn't remember what Jedi can do."

Any doubts of his not knowing there position were dashed however as dazzling red laser blasts flashed past their ships. The attack missed but it did come close enough to darken Elydyn's blast tinting.

"So much for that Blue." The Jedi said into his helmet mounted comlink. "Everyone form up on your respective leader, keep each other covered."

The Jedi split off in pairs drawing four fighters to each pair. The droid brains weren't that smart judging from this alone. It might have been better for their enemies if they would have just overwhelmed them a group at a time, but now this would be too easy. Elydyn eased himself into the Jedi battle meld allowing the voices of the others to fill him thoughts, giving him images of the whole and not just small parts of the struggle.

_Lead your tails here. _Elydyn directed the thought to Mieqel and his apprentice. The two Jedi gladly responded and Sarick and the squad leader destroyed two of the perusing craft. Elydyn's R2 unit beeped a warning as his own opponents scored a solid hit reducing his rear deflector shields to virtually nothing.

"Watch your back Trike." Psion chided. "Come to point four five."

"Affirmative." The Jedi replied. He jerked in the opposite direction and his two tailing fighters slammed straight into Psion and Rusti's salvo of energy blasts.

Sarick's roar filled the comm. channel as another blip disappeared from the vid display. That was five only seven more to go. His apprentice was doing admirably well. Elydyn thought allowing himself a moment of pride before one of the ships came into firing range. He was finally able to get a good look at it. A central ball with two rings lined with weaponry a support strut ran through the ball, most likely filled with munitions for the forward firing torpedo launchers. It was basically a slightly updated take on an old Clone Wars model Tri-Fighter. Elydyn wasn't impressed his younger brother probably could have designed something better.

Of course he would have loved to have the 20 year old Sacul on this mission but his master Jaina Solo rarely returned to the temple unless it was absolutely necessary. Instead she preformed mission after mission with her husband Zek and their two apprentices. The "Sword of the Jedi" was indeed as sharp as ever. Elydyn's master Nivla Savid on the other hand was nowhere near as reckless. The dark skinned Jedi shared the home planet of Naboo with Elydyn, though his master was a dark skinned man. He wore his curly black hair in a short almost military cut, as opposed to Elydyn's perpetually messy dark brown hair. His master was as patient as the mountains where as Elydyn was a raging river of activity. Thankfully he had calmed sown somewhat over the years.

He was snapped out of his reminiscing by an impatient rasping in his ear. "Master?" Sarick was calling. "Where are you going?"

"Sorry I lost it for a moment." Elydyn admitted sheepishly.

"No by all means keep it up." Mieqel said half amusedly. "Your drawing ff the remaining five as you head toward their base; seems they were programmed to protect it, though evasive maneuvers would be good about now."

A volley of laser fire streaked by, causing his R2 unit to squeal in protest. "E2 shunt all power from the front shields to the rear. Then take whatever power you can from the weapon systems and split it between the shields and engines."

The stomach droid made a few discontented bleeps as it complied. Elydyn then proceeded to send his ship into a gut-wrenching series of loops and twists as the other five Jedi took their time picking off the fighters.

Once he was finally free he let out a relieved sigh. "Thanks guys," The mission's senior Jedi said sarcastically "now on to the main target. Stay alert; we don't know what kind of surprises Windscar might have laid out in advance. He received five solitary clicks as acknowledgement and the group sped off toward the massive mining station.

As it turned out the caution was unnecessary the whole rest of the trip was uneventful. The space station was shaped like a child's toy jack. Hanger bays were located in each of the four arms with most of the living quarters and operations stations positioned in the central column. The group used a slicing signal one of the spies had provided and one of the bay doors slid open.

The interior of the bay was dark only a few running lights cast any illumination.

"Something isn't right." Mieqel announced as the Stealth X's settled onto their landing struts. They popped their canopies in unison and dropped to the floor.

"Of course something is wrong." A voice called from the darkness. With a snap-hiss a silver light illuminated a handsome face. The long hair appeared to be blue-green in the lighting. "Welcome to my home." The man spread his arms and the landing bays lights turned on temporarily blinding the group. All six Jedi drew their own lightsabers.

"By the authority placed upon us by the Galactic Alliance you are under arrest Windscar." Elydyn spat out

"My, my, as quick to the point as always Elydyn Taalar," The magnate replied "perhaps you should be more aware of your surroundings." He snapped his finger and his hidden troopers and battle droids rose from behind their barricades.

"You under estimate us Windscar," Mieqel said "a few dozen soldiers is nowhere near a match for six Jedi Knights."

"My dear, dear Jedi," Windscar replied pointing at the ceiling. Sarick, Dineyl, and Rusti looked up.

"Master, we have trouble." The short avian told his Chiss teacher. Psion looked up in response.

"Interesting design," He commented after a moment "judging from the chassis I doubt that they are much more than slightly mobile cannons. However their numbers have us at a disadvantage."

Elydyn let his eyes lift to the ceiling and indeed the roof was lined with cannons gripping the surface with a magnetic tripod attached to the base of each one.

"Now throw down your weapons." Windscar demanded.

"I don't think so." Sarick bellowed. And the group ran forward as one. Windscar hit a small device on the hilt of his lightsaber and the droids moved to open fire.

The Lord of the Crimson Law tossed a red card into the air. A red energy field sprang to life as he leapt from his hiding place. Windscar was caught unawares and fell to the floor, his lightsaber falling from his grasp. The trap had worked perfectly he would be able to dispose to the manufacturer and then he would take care of the Jedi.

"Lord Windscar," He hissed through his vocoder. "By order of the Council of Nineteen you are scheduled for termination. Please pray to whoever you serve, you will meet him soon enough."

The red clad figure held up one of his hands and a short yellow blade sprang from each finger. He then reared back and jumped forward, ready to tear the throat out of his foe's neck.


	5. Chapter 5

Crimson Rock watched in mild interest as his colleague attacked his target. Law was indeed powerful; he had been trained by the mind himself. It was a common thought that he was being groomed to take a seat on the Tribunal as soon as one of the current seat holders made a mistake. Errors were made every so often but to those holding the top three seat of power in the order, even a minor mistake would prove to be fatal.

As it was there was only one way for someone in the upper echelon of the order; the removal of your hood during combat. That was why Crimson Rock was even there. If a mistake was made it would be seen and justice would be met out.

"Take us into position near the blast doors." He growled. His apprentices moved quickly to comply and the vessel moved slowly to its target destination. Now they could only wait to see what would happen.

Elydyn Taalar was beginning to get angry. Of course he was relieved that his team had suffered no casualties during their death charge. An energy field had erected itself around the six Jedi and deflected all the base defender's attacks. Of course stated energy field also held them captive and therefore out of the fight.

The Jedi had spent the first two minutes attacking the field trying to find a way out, but it easily absorbed their attacks and looked no weaker for it. Windscar's troops were not idle either; they were still attacking the section in which their master was struggling for his life. First they wasted several packs of blaster gas firing at the wall, the only result they got was the attacks ricocheting off the barrier and attacking their own. The Droids attacked as well, their heavy blasters would have made short work of just about anything else but now they were all but useless in the face of this strange technology.

Elydyn decided to sit down and meditate while he awaited a solution. The rest of the Jedi followed suit as the defenders brought out some rockets. Amidst the sound of large explosions Justus let himself slip away. He drifted among the stars feeling his own strength bolstered by the other life forms in the galaxy. Then the scene shifted; fires and ruins dominated the landscape, corpses drained of their life force littered the barren scenery. In the middle of it all a pile of skulls rose a massive stone throne formed at the top. Then a red hooded man appeared and two similarly, yet slightly differently dressed men emerged from behind the seat. All gave off an aura of massive strength and knowledge of the Dark Side of the Force.

The man on the thrown turned his face to stare at Elydyn, his face a void that seemed to draw Elydyn's strength in, much as a black hole draws in the light. The Jedi tried to ignite his lightsaber but he could not muster the strength to do it. He collapsed to the floor his cloak fluttering about.

Lord Windscar clutched his weapon tightly as he directed another attack at the red clad beings face. He blocked it with the palm of his hand. No that couldn't be right it had to be a trick of the light or something like that. But he did it again. Something in his glove must contain a lightsaber stopping material. The duelist continued to exchange blows for several more minutes, Windscar knew he would lose this battle if he didn't do something soon. The Crimson Order agent was powerful and fast, but there was no way he knew everything about him.

He flexed his shoulder muscles and the feathery overcoat he had been wearing flew open. With a quick beat he was off the ground and out of range of the man. The red clad creature paced back and forth, staring up at its target with its vacant face, cocking its head slightly as it searched for a solution. It clearly was not going to move, nor was it going to release him.

"Ok so what's this all about anyways?" Windscar asked trying to figure out where he went wrong. He never even thought of turning on the Order it was all Gnave's idea. The Kaleesh General decided to go solo, leaving both Windscar and the Order holding the bag in a manner of speaking.

"You know very well what you did!" Law hissed. "For acts of treason you will be punished!" He thumbed a button on his belt and the energy shield began to contract, the roof lowered and the areas that the shimmering red touched the ground were developing a deep trench as the energy cut into it. Windscar was forced to fly lower and soon he was in range of the Crimson assassin. The cloaked being jumped at him and the business man was hard pressed to avoid the attack. He gathered his strength and dove at his foe, his silver saber flashing as he swept by. The attack was a narrow miss as Law demonstrated his sharp reflexes. The move was repeated several times, each having the same result. Windscar was tiring this exertion was taking its toll. He dove forward again but this time his foe caught his saber in his hand and another set of red blades emerged from his other. With a surgical strike he clipped Windscar's wings causing him to cry out in pain and hit the ground hard.

With a sound halfway between a hiss and a growl Law lunged forward at the prone form. His target sprang up and deflected one of the hands the other scored a shallow blow to his left shoulder. Biting back a curse the rogue Jedi attacked slashing his saber in a diagonal blow, aiming for his left shoulder. Law sidestepped and brought his claws around again. Windscar knocked them aside with a backhanded blow and managed to land a Force strengthened kick to the hooded assassin's midsection. He grunted and staggered back slightly allowing Windscar to press the advantage.

He rained down blows upon the man, never giving him a chance to set up a good counter attack. He had him nearly to the back wall when Law finally regained his composure. The Order's hit man ducked and managed to get inside Windscar's attacking range. He delivered a hard head butt to Windscar's chin. It knocked the man off balance and the creature jumped forward to deliver its own merciless assault.

Windscar staggered back under the vicious attacks. He moved back out of attacking range and waited for the man. He was glad to see he was obliged and Law moved forward in a blur of motion. With a well timed attack Windscar managed to cut the corner of Law's hood. Suddenly a fur lined face was partly visible, its yellow eyes blinking rapidly as if it were trying to adjust to a spotlight suddenly being shined directly in its face.

Elydyn snapped awake and reached for his visor. The rest of his comrades did the same. The jumped to their feet and engaged the magnetic seals on their boots just as they heard the blast.

It appeared that Crimson law knew what was coming he threw on a breath mask and formed a Force barrier around himself as soon as his identity was known. Windscar followed suit, just in time too.

The heavy blast doors suddenly blew open with an ear splitting screech. Several missile strikes later all six of the Jedi Stealth X's were destroyed. Laser cannons thundered and the droids clinging to the roof became so many spare parts. The carnage cleared for a moment allowing Windscar to glimpse the attack ship, a shuttle judging from its size. Its cockpit was oval shaped with a long thin neck attacking it to the main cargo and sleeping areas. Either side of the control area featured a pair of heavy cannons. Connected to the main body were two rounded multipurpose projectile launchers. On top of those two more turbo lasers were mounted. The wings were like an Imperial shuttle but only folded in one spot giving it a rough "M" shape. Each wing had another trio of energy weapons mounted on the tips.

Windscar knew the design, no forget that, he had built the ship, ten of them in all. He knew their potential for destruction. If all ten of them were here he hadn't a chance now that the Jedi were grounded.

In a blur of red Crimson Law ran up the opening loading ramp and disappeared Seconds later the wings tipped in a mock salute and the shuttle backed out of the hangar. The energy field dissipated as the control cards fried and the Jedi stepped forward. "Windscar deactivated his lightsaber and raised his hands in defeat. "I surrender." He managed to gasp before crumpling from stress and exhaustion.

"You failed Lord of the Crimson Law." A deep voice muttered from the shadows of the cargo bay.

"It wasn't my fault." The feline-like Togorian growled. "There were too many variables Six Jedi were not supposed to show up. I could have handled it anyways."

With a metallic screech and a snap-hiss a blue green blade snapped into being illuminating a massive creature sitting on a cargo container. Its trunk-like legs ended in three sharp talons, two faced forward and the other backward. The shadow rose, its long flowing red robe was cut open on both sides allowing arm movement even with the cloaks main piece attached. The beings right arm ended in a large claw, which was now curving back into a bayonet style configuration, the saber extended from the center of the arm. The other hand was more or less humanoid. An armored five fingered hand, sharp edges ran along each digit making the hand even more lethal in hand to hand combat. The ridges split into three different channels as it traveled up the arm making a large crest at the elbow. A few clicks brought Law back to reality. He realized that the free hand was holding a datapad.

"Kovaine under the law of the Council of Nineteen, you are hereby sentenced to death for breach of conduct."

"You can't kill me!" The feline roared. "Tribunal or no you are nothing compared to me!" He ignited all ten of his claws and ran forward. He didn't make it even five steps before the wind left his lungs and his feet left the floor.

"You should just give up." A woman's voice taunted as two orange blades joined the teal, yellow and red ones already lighting the bay.

"Hiding behind your apprentice?" Kovaine managed to gasp out as a pain suddenly shot up his side.

"Actually he is." Another voice replied mournfully as Fear pulled his black light saber from his chest cavity.

"How?" he managed to gasp before crumpling to the ground. The last thing he saw was Crimson Rock taking long legged strides two where his body lay. Hi lifted one of his massive clawed legs and with a rush of air Crimson Law's universe went black.


	6. Chapter 6

Hey I don't own the Star Wars universe but most of the characters are mine.

Author's note: Barabels talk with a strange accent. If an "S" comes at the end of the word they pronounce it with a "Z" sound. It is just how they talk. Read any of the NJO books or the Dark Nest Trilogy to check it out.

Feel free to read and review.

Chapter 6

"Any luck?" Elydyn asked Mieqel as he stepped from the lift.

"None." Was the reply, barely audible from beneath the communications console. The blonde Jedi slowly extracted his upper body from the tangle of wires and fried circuit boards that he had pulled out of the system. "Whatever the Crimson Law did to the comm. system he did it well, every board is fried. It must have been some bug he planted." He sat down on one of the other disabled consoles and shook his head slowly.

"So basically we're stuck here?" Elydyn asked warily.

"At least until Eaichu decides to show up here. Of course we decided that unless he heard from us then he wouldn't come for at least a week and by then he would have collected a decent attack force."

"Well keep up the good work." Elydyn commented hastily as he cast a final look about the ruined communications area. "Do you need anything?"

"Well some help would be nice." Mieqel stated stretching his stiff arms. "Could you send Dineyl up?"

The blue robed Jedi's eyes narrowed slightly. "Well I was planning on sparring with her for a bit, we both know she needs the practice."

The blonde Jedi looked back at his friend. "Oh so now I'm not a good enough teacher eh?" He smiled in half amusement as he examined one of the circuit boards he had pulled from the communications console.

"You can teach most Force skills well enough," Elydyn shrugged slightly, "but you and I both know that I have far more to offer her in saber skills than you do."

The rooms other occupant's eyes lit up at the thinly veiled challenge. "Care to test that hypothesis?" He countered pulling a short handle from amongst his robes. It was inlaid with gold and two emeralds were attached to both the center and the bottom of the hilt. He pressed the center gem causing a bright blue blade to jump to spring to life.

Elydyn was not one to take the bait. "You want to make even more of a mess of things?" He asked, sweeping his hand across the ruined communications equipment. "I thought we wanted this repaired."

"I do, but I can't let a challenge to my skills go unanswered."

"Well we can settle it later after the repairs are completed. Sound good enough?"

"Fine, fine. Send Psion on up then, Chiss are supposed to be good studies so hopefully he'll be able to help out with this."

"Well I've never seen him work on any equipment but his gauntlets, but I suppose he should know what he is doing." Elydyn shrugged again. "He should be bored anyways. I just wish I was able to have my brother along he would be able to fix this a lot faster."

Mieqel looked hurt for a moment. "Not that you aren't doing your best I know that this type of equipment is not your used to working with." The brown haired Jedi added hastily.

"Just go get my help for me and do your training." Mieqel said waving Elydyn away. The senior Jedi bowed slightly and headed back into the lift.

Psion was easy enough to find though, he was heading back to check on the three apprentices guarding the prisoners. Elydyn diverted him to the proper destination and took over his mission.

"Sarick how goes the prisoner watch?" He asked the massive Barabel that was sitting with his back to the door. The reptile's tail slapped the floor in surprise.

"Master! It goez well." Sarick answered, standing up hastily and knocking his chair over in the process. "Nothing haz happened since you left."

"Good, good." The master Jedi said. "Where is Apprentice Taalar?"

"She iz watching over Windscar. He hasn't responded much since we locked him up, though he haz been eating but not much."

"Well go ahead and relive her, I have some things I need to talk about with her."

Sarick bowed. "Yez Master." He stated as he moved from the room.

A few moments later Dineyl walked into the room.

She bowed formally "Yes Master Taalar?" She asked.

Elydyn tossed her a small cylinder. "You, me, hangar bay, now." He responded before walking from the room.

The fuzzy blue image wavered and hissed in main audience chamber. Two figures sat on opposite sides of the table that the holopad was mounted on. Both men were dressed in long red cloaks, their hoods covered their faces, letting not even a sliver of light shine upon their faces. The man on the right was the Lord of the Crimson Mind, head of the Crimson Order. His company for the evening had his long cape draped about his shoulder and pinned it on the left side with a large black needle. Beneath his cloak he wore grey body armor on most of his body. This was the Lord of the Crimson Flame, third member of the Order's tribunal behind the Lord of the Crimson Rock.

"So it is done then?" Crimson Mind asked the imposing hologram.

"Yes sir." The Lord of the Crimson Rock answered, his head inclined in a slight nod. "I preformed the deed myself, Kovaine is indeed dead."

"Only slightly unfortunate." The Lord of the Crimson Flame said from across the table. He stood up quickly. "What is even worse is that you both failed to accomplish the mission!" His black gloved hand slammed down on the table making the display waver even more. "Windscar is still alive and what's worse he has now seen who is using the shuttles he built for us. We didn't go through the effort of erasing the records of the vessels from his computers to have our plans traced to him. "Crimson Rock, why didn't you destroy the worm and the Jedi while you had the chance?"

"Because Crimson Flame," Crimson Mind interrupted the tirade "I told him to only observe not intervene."

If Crimson Flames face could have been seen behind the hood of his cloak it would have held a look of complete shock.

"Why my lord?" Crimson Flame asked.

"Because there is now way for them to track us even if Windscar could point them in the proper direction, we are quite safe from anything they could try to do. Remember Windscar has never been here, as long as we tie up Gnave's loose end then nobody knows our position." The Mind waved back to the hologram. "Crimson Rock, return here and give me your full report." He then turned his gaze to the Flame. "And you my friend we need to find a replacement for my late apprentice. I suggest you and one of your apprentices go to the Hoth system. Observe Ragni and see how well he performs. Of course if he fails then you have my permission to intervene. Gnave must not survive, he crossed us and now he will pay the price." The Headmaster smashed his fist into his open palm.

"Your will be done master." Both men said in unison. Crimson Rock made a chopping motion with his left hand and the hologram faded into nothingness.

"Gnave should be arriving on Hoth soon." The Mind said turning to the remaining member of the Tribunal. "Make haste, our Jedi scouts will be arriving there shortly after to confirm that his fleet is there. Then the Galactic Alliance will arrive and crush the body after we have already crushed the head."

"A wise plan master." Crimson Flame stated as he rose from his seat. He bowed stiffly and departed from the room; the only sound he made was the soft clicking of the plastoid armored boots tapping each other.

"And now it begins." Crimson Mind chuckled as he took a sip from the glass that he had set at his feet earlier.

Dineyl parried the attack easily enough and brought her other lightsaber in a sweeping arc aimed at her opponent's head. He blocked it with no effort, released himself from the saber lock and batted the blue and white glowing blades away with his dual blue-black ones. Then in one swift motion he stepped in close crossing his sabers like a pair of scissors in front of her neck.

"Ok you win again." The young woman admitted as she turned off her weapons. She paused a moment to wipe the sweat from her brow with the sleeve of her tunic and then dropped lightly into a sitting position on the floor.

Her opponent on the other hand showed no signs of fatigue, but this was expected of a Jedi Knight of Elydyn's status. "You're getting better." Elydyn said patting her on the shoulder, then moving his hand up quickly to mess up her hair. "Soon you should be good enough to make a second saber of your own; though I hope you'll take my advice and make it like mine." He smiled slightly.

"Well I haven't trained much with a staff type saber." The brown haired girl answered her hazel eyes flashing in uncertainty. "I could probably learn how to use it if I had some time." She looked at the two blades in her hand, the one she had built herself and the extra saber that Elydyn always carried around, but often ended up using.

"Well then," Elydyn replied "wish granted." He snapped his two weapons together by the magnetic clamps at the base of their hilts. He tossed the weapon lightly to his sister and force pulled his reserve blade from her grasp. "I'll even start with one weapon until you get used to it." He said in his best mocking tone.

Dineyl jumped up and had the twin blades ignited before her feet hit the ground. "You'll be using two sooner then you think." She bit out as she rushed into attack. Then the two once again began the dance. They practiced for hours not realizing how quickly the time was slipping away.


End file.
